1. Share with your instructor three URLs which offer you the
options to create free listservs, newsgroups, web forums or other
collaborative tools. Include sources beyond those in the handbook, if possible. (Optional but recommended) Join one or more listservs not related to this class . Send your instructor a
private email message with a copy of at least one message you have posted to the new
listserv(s) (use cut and paste.)

2. Post to the class listserv ( teach-L@netpals.lsoft.com )your candid reaction to the potential utility of
listservs along with an accounting of your current and past experiences with listservs.
Post information regarding at least two of the most interesting listservs you have
found with a brief description of how you found them and what they offer.

3. Cut and paste information from one of the
www.learner.org resources which you've found useful into an email message, identify which service the
information is from, and send it to your instructor.

5. Go to
www.blogspot.com and start a new blog, email the web address to
the instructor. Relate any problems or reactions from this exercise
to your instructor.

6. Create your own google group at http://groups.google.com
First, Take the Tour, then, set up an account. Do not be
intimidated by all the options, this task is only a few simple steps.
No web page creation is required. Review what others have done with
their groups using the additional features (web pages, etc.) Report
your experience to your instructor along with your group URL.

To learn where to find topical listservs relevant to your teaching, how
they function, and related Netiquette issues and guidelines.

To review Internet mentoring models and resources.

A. Begin by
reviewing

Explore the free listserv resources at
http://lists.topica.com and for
thorough tutorials on listservs click on the "help" link at the bottom of
the page. Similar free listservs and tutorials are at
http://groups.yahoo.comhttp://groups.google.com and
dozens of other sites easily found by searching for "free listservs,
mailing lists, or discussion groups."

B.
Subscribe to at least one new listservJoin one or more listservs not related to this class. Send your instructor a
private email message with a copy of at least one message you have posted to the new
listserv(s) (use cut and paste.) Some listservs may have been discontinued so you
may have to try subscribing to several before you're successful.

IMPORTANT: Be careful where you enter your email address online as
your email address might well be picked up by spammers who will send you
endless unwanted messages including pornography. When in doubt, don't give
out your email address. Spammers pick up email addresses from public
listservs and CD's are being sold with 40 million email addresses collected
in this way.

Your best solution is to create a disposable free email
account at http://hotmail.com or
http://yahoo.com for use with listservs in
order to protect your regular email address from spammers.

Or you can find a local private listserv,
or start your own. If spam is already a problem you need to get a spam
filter to automatically delete any unwanted messages. More on spam and your
options for controlling unwanted message in Lesson Four.

Listservs
are convenient in that all messages are automatically delivered. Google
groups and most forums allow responses to individual postings as an
advantage over listservs. While many forums allow you to toggle a
setting to automatically email all postings to you, they typically
require you remember to visit the forum site to review new posts; as an
alternative to overwhelming your inbox.

TIP: Be sure you keep notes on how to unsubscribe to a listserv so you
can stop the flow of messages whenever you so desire! (30 minutes)

C. Have fun with this hands-on learning opportunity. It
has become extremely easy to create collaborative
spaces on the Internet.

Go to
www.blogspot.com
and start a new blog, email the web address to the instructor.
More on Blogs and RSS (the way to subscribe to blogs to receive
new postings automatically) is at
http://web2fork12classrooms.pbwiki.com The short explanation
videos will be very helpful if you are new to blogs and RSS feeds.(60 minutes total, 30 minutes per site)

D.Create your own google group at http://groups.google.com
First, Take the Tour, then, set up an account. Do not be
intimidated
by all the options, this task is only a few simple steps. You are not
required to create web pages in this lessons, but will have the option
to do so for Lesson three.

Review what
others have done with their groups using the additional features (web
pages, etc.) Report your experience to your instruction along with your
group URL. There is a creative explosion of new free web tools for
collaboration and authoring of web-based curriculum.

To fully appreciate all Google offers as individual tools that can all be elegantly integrated look at this listing http://www.google.com/intl/en/options/ (Found by selecting "More" from the google menu, and then "Even More.")

E. We all find the range of collaborative tools overwhelming! Take a break when you feel
overwhelmed, and know you can always return to this outline of tutorials whenever you're ready to learn more. Email and Listservs are by far the most
common, so focus on those for now, noting web conferencing is the next most important
area, with desktop video conferencing becoming more popular all the time, too. How we use
collaborative tools in education will ultimately be a far more human issue than a
technical issue. Online social and writing skills will be very important for our students'
future success!

TIP: You'll find the current trend is online offerings of an increasingly wide
variety of free collaborative tools that are easy to use with your students!

Free Private Email accounts: Never use someone else's email
account when you can have your own private account. Consider keeping more than one email
account if you'd like to keep various arenas of email interaction separate. If you give
out your email address on web sites, expect it to soon receive dozens of unwanted emails.
You can buy CDROM's with 57 million email addresses gathered in this way. "Spam"
is unwanted email sent to millions of people without their consent, wasting time and
energy.Let your spouse and kids get their own email accounts free at http://hotmail.com and http://yahoo.com
.

Nicknames: Did you know most email programs have a nickname feature
where you can make a list of email addresses, and give it a nickname, so whenever you want
to send a note to the whole listing you just send one message to the nickname and everyone
gets a copy? This is not the same as a listserv since they can't send a message to
everyone unless they do the same thing you did.

Mailboxes: Did you know most email programs allow you to save any
message to one or more mailboxes for later reference? You can create new mailboxes at
anytime and this is a great way of archiving and organizing the best resource messages
from listservs, family, etc. I save all lesson submission messages for my classes, and
archive the best resource messages from several listservs. I have two dozens different
mailboxes that I save specific information in for easy retrieval at any time.

Signatures: Did you know that your email has a signature feature where
your email program will automatically attach to the bottom of every message whatever you
like, such as your mailing address, work position, or a line of philosophy or humor?

Attachments: Did you know you can attach any kind of file to an email
message? Trouble is, if the recipient of your message doesn't have the right software to
view, say a powerpoint file, they will just be frustrated that you sent them a powerpoint
file. Never post attachments to listservs for this very reason, and
always confirm what software is at the other end before you 'gift' folks with your
attachments. Whether Mac or PC, you can tell your computer what software to use to open up
a specific file type. Search your HELP features for "file type" to learn how to
set this up. Then, when you double click on an attachment, it opens right up into the
proper software program. Handy!

HTML Messaging: Did you know many of the newer email programs allow
you to send messages in HTML format that will also display automatically web page
attachments? You can use stationary templates and send really neat multimedia messages,
BUT did you know when you send an HTML message to someone without this software your
message looks like garbage? Stick with standard messaging unless you've checked to see
what email software they have on the receiving end.

What Help Button? Did you know your email program has a help button
that explains the above features, and more, in detail. Oh! THAT help button! All software
has detailed step-by-step instructions hidden under the help button. Explore the index and
contents features until you understand how HELP works. Yes, there's a HELP section on
using the HELP button, too. Guess where?